In Small Packages
by Kima-Mitsura
Summary: Nezumi is a normal girl living a normal life at a normal school with normal friends. Well, one of them isn't quite normal, in fact, you could say he's not entirely human. Rewriting some chapters and working on new ones.
1. Newbie

In Small Packages – Chapter 1 – Newbie

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Fixing things one chapter at a time.

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the character Nezumi. All of these characters were originally created by Akira Toriyama and most of the dialogue and scenes come straight out of the DBZ English dub, brought to us by Toei Animation, Fuji TV and Funimation. Please support the official release.**

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"Morning, Mouse!" Sharpner said loudly as a small teenage girl walked into the room. Her real name was Nezumi which means "mouse", hence her nickname. She turned towards her group of friends and smiled.

"Hey Sharpner. Morning, Erasa." Nezumi greeted her two blonde friends as she approached. "Any sign of Videl?" She asked, noting the absence of her black-haired friend.

"Nothin' yet, Mouse." Sharpner said, closing his eyes and folding his arms over his muscled chest. Erasa jumped up and turned toward Nezumi excitedly.

"I heard it on the radio this mornin'! There was a bank robbery downtown!" Erasa said quickly, a twinkle in her blue eyes. Nezumi's brows rose up and confused frown made up her mouth.

"A bank robbery? This early?" Nezumi asked as she pulled a loose strand of brown hair out of her vision. She was used to robberies happening, but they didn't happen all too often in the morning.

"Yep. I bet Videl is looking for this 'Gold Fighter' everyone else is lookin' for." Erasa said, very sure of the events.

"Well, don't keep me in suspense, Erasa! Tell me what happened! You know dad doesn't let me listen to the radio." Nezumi said as she pulled her notebook and a pencil from her grey-and-black striped messenger bag. She then tucked her brown-blonde hair behind both ears and prepared to hear Erasa's story.

"Well, there en't much, but from what I heard, the Gold Fighter has beautiful, glowing blonde hair, gorgeous teal eyes, and he's extremely strong!" Erasa gushed, holding her hands as if she were talking about the most romantic thing she'd ever heard of.

'_Weird. Reminds me of the Cell Games way back. Could it be one of those guys?_' Nezumi thought, an image of blonde-haired, teal-eyed men standing on the edge of the Cell Games ring. She'd only seen the event as ZTV had broadcasted it, but it was a prominent memory in her teenage life. She turned to her notebook and picked up her pencil, intent on drawing when a certain black-haired, blue-eyed girl walked into the room. "Ah! There's Videl." Nezumi confirmed as her friend approached.

"Morning Videl! I heard about that bank robbery earlier." Erasa said, "What exactly happened to that Gold Fighter?"

"Morning, guys. Yeah, I've been on a search for that 'Gold Fighter' but only one thing came up: he wears an OSH badge and wore a particular outfit." Videl said grumpily as she sat on her desk and glared down at her bare knees.

"No way! That means he's gotta be a student here!" Nezumi concluded. She was both excited and surprised to hear this news about 'The Gold Fighter' whom she'd only known about for less than a couple minutes.

"Oh my! I'd better make sure my makeup looks okay!" Erasa said as she pulled a small mirror and some cherry-red lipstick from her bag.

"You look fine Erasa." Videl chuckled before turning to study Sharpner. He pulled his hair back behind his ear and sat forward in his seat. "Hey, Sharpner, don't tell me _you're_ the Golden Fighter?" Videl asked, not expecting too much of an answer.

"Oh, spare me." Sharpner said with a chuckle. "I don't have time to play superhero. I spent all morning working out my _arms_." He said, flexing them ever so slightly. Nezumi rolled her eyes and resumed her drawing, not yet sure of what it would end up being; so far, it had a sketchy humanoid shape.

"So Videl," Erasa started, getting the blackette's attention, "you think this guy could be stronger than your pops?" There was a slight tint of worry to her tone, which was easily remedied by the boy sitting in front of them.

"What a joke!" he said, "We all know Videl's dad is the strongest there is. He could knock this 'Gold Boy' out by flexing his biceps." His tone swam with confidence for the world's hero, Mr. Hercule Satan. At that time the door slid open and an aging man in a business suit walked in.

"Look alive guys, the teacher's here." Nezumi alerted her friends and set down her pencil. Though she appeared to be setting up to pay attention to the teacher, her thoughts wandered, as they often do. '_As for the Gold Fighter, I wouldn't be surprised if he was _ten times_ stronger than Mr. Satan. I don't believe that joke's acting for a second…not like I'm ever gonna say that out loud, though…_' Nezumi glanced around the class, as if worried someone was telepathic.

"Ahem. Good morning my young…_scholars_." The teacher, Mr. Burns, said as he set his hand on his desk, "Today we are being graced with a new class member who actually knows how to read. That's your cue, my boy." Burns muttered the last part to the new student waiting outside the classroom. He stepped in timidly and gave everyone in the room a friendly smile. Nezumi absently studied his appearance: a white, long-sleeve shirt, a black vest with a yellow clip in front, red-orange pants, and black shoes, topped off with a black spiky haircut with a small tuft hanging over his brow.

"Eh…oh, good morning." the boy said, "My name's Gohan, nice to meet you."

"Ooh! Look at 'im Videl! He's a cutie." Erasa said, resting her elbows on the desk and holding her jaw in her hands.

'_You can say that again, Erasa. Apparently he's smart, too. I wonder if he can help me with my math work…_' Nezumi thought as she gave Gohan the once-over and watched as he walked over to where Mr. Burns stood.

"What kind o' name is Gohan? Heh." One of the boys in class asked. Nezumi smirked a bit at his name, remembering that it meant "cooked rice" and "meal", but reasoned it was probably a family name. After all, she was named after the word for "mouse", which also happened to be her great-grandmother's name.

"That's weird, he looks familiar…" Videl muttered. Nezumi looked towards Videl curiously. Nezumi fiddled with one of her several earrings and turned her attention back to the teacher and Gohan.

"Hehehe! He was probably on a TV spelling bee." Sharpner said mockingly, earning a few laughs from the students within earshot.

"Gohan here made perfect scores on all his entry exams. English, math, chemistry…many of you could learn from his example." Mr. Burns said as he scanned the classroom, his eyes picking out the most troublesome kids in the room.

"Example this!" One of the kids shouted as he flipped Mr. Burns the bird and fell back laughing along with several other students.

"He's talking about me, I just know it." Nezumi muttered dejectedly, her head falling forward so her chin landed on the divot between her collarbones.

"Oh, don't beat yourself up, Mouse! Maybe you could get Gohan to be your tutor…" Erasa said, winking at Nezumi at the last part of her sentence.

"What are you implying?" Nezumi asked, eyeing Erasa suspiciously. The blonde girl just giggled and waved off the subject.

"Silence! You kids are an embarrassment to Public School!" Mr. Burns shouted over the noise of the students. When all was quiet he spoke to the new student. "Well, Gohan, you can sit wherever you'd like to sit."

"Eh, okay…uh…" Gohan said, scanning the classroom for an available seat.

"Yoohoo! New boy!" Erasa called out as she waved her hand around. She caught Gohan's attention and signaled to one of the only available seats: the one right next to Nezumi. "Here's one."

"Oh! Sure, thank you." Gohan said courteously. Nezumi squeaked and felt her face warm up as Gohan walked up the steps; she wasn't good with meeting new people, especially the cute ones.

"Erasa, you idiot! I'll just embarrass myself!" Nezumi half-hissed, half-whispered to her friend.

"Oh, relax, Mousie! He won't bite." Erasa said dismissively as she took her seat again.

"Ngh…" Nezumi groaned as Gohan reached their level. '_Damn you Erasa…_' Nezumi thought as she looked up to meet Gohan's face; he was smiling pleasantly.

"Nice to meet you." He said politely. Nezumi blushed slightly and nodded with a nervous smile.

"Y-yeah. Likewise." Nezumi answered, nodding in assent. '_Darn he's cute. Like a little kid, but decently grown up._'

"I'm Erasa, with an "e"! And these are my friends: Videl," Erasa said, pointing to the aforementioned girl, "Sharpner, and little Mousie here!" the blonde finished, indicating the muscled blonde opposite of Videl and then the small brunette.

"Er, actually, my name's Nezumi. But everyone calls me Mouse." Nezumi said, shyly fiddling with the three earrings perched in the cartilage of her right ear. Gohan smiled again and nodded as Nezumi turned back to her notebook and continued her drawing. She held the pencil nervously as the new boy sitting next to her stayed totally oblivious.

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My style is different now than when I started writing this, so I will repair what needs to be done.


	2. Speak Up

In Small Packages – Chapter 2 – Speak Up

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If you've read this story before, please reread through all the chapters. I have made a few changes.

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DISCLAIMER: DBZ, most of the dialogue and scenes, and most of the characters were originally created and owned by Akira Toriyama, Toei Animation, and Funimation. Nezumi is the only feature in this story that I own.**

**WARNING: There is language in the following chapter, only a smidge though.**

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"Please open your textbooks to ze page twenty-four." A blonde woman said as she stood in front of her class of high school students. She was the English teacher, Mrs. Senda, and the tight bun on the back of her head bounced slightly as she moved her head to scan the class. A few of the students were still talking, her student Erasa was one of them.

"Gohan, you wanna know who Videl's pop is? You'll be surprised." Erasa said as she waved her index finger through the air. She paused for effect and then continued, "She's the daughter of Mr. Satan."

"What? Hercule Satan?" Gohan, the new kid at Orange Star High, asked. He looked surprised, but Nezumi, one of Erasa's friends, couldn't tell; Gohan and Nezumi had switched seats so he could converse with Erasa more discreetly.

'_If you don't believe the girl, take a DNA test._' Nezumi thought smartly. She was slightly offended that Gohan didn't pay her any mind, but figured the offense weighed equally with the fact the Nezumi herself offered to switch seats. She sighed and resumed her drawing, this was her third doodle of the day: a ground dragon of her own design.

"Yep! The one and only. I knew you'd be surprised!" Erasa said with a grin.

"Well that must be neat, you being a celebrity's daughter an' all." Gohan said, leaning forward and speaking to Videl directly.

"Our Videl is a special gal. Of course, being the _friend_ of a daughter of a celebrity is pretty good too, ya know." Erasa bragged. Nezumi just smiled to herself and shook her head as she looked at the panel-covered ceiling before turning her attention to the English textbook next to her drawn-over notebook. There was a pause where only the teacher's Swedish-accented language started illustrating unnecessary clauses, then Videl spoke up.

"So _you're_ the guy!" Videl accused, glaring at Gohan, "Yeah, you're the guy that I talked to right outside the bank this morning." Nezumi's ears twitched slightly as she diverted attention towards the conversation beside her.

"Yes, I am." Gohan answered nervously, surprised by the sudden accusation.

"Wow! Right after the Gold Fighter vanished?" Erasa asked excitedly. Nezumi now focused almost all of her attention on the conversation, her pencil lay forgotten on her notebook and she carefully held her English textbook so it looked like she was following along.

"Who? The Gold Fighter?" Gohan asked, clueless to the name of the fanciful warrior, "Is he a celebrity too?"

"Where're you from? You're out of the gossip loop!" Erasa said, "He's a crime fighter with super strength and magic powers! They say he looks like a teenage boy except he has _glowing_ golden hair! Everyone's talking about it." Erasa said this in an excitedly calm manner, as if superheroes came rarely enough to inspire some awe in people.

'_Pfft! Magic…_' Nezumi thought to herself, laughing inwardly. She then noted Videl's fierce gaze directed at Gohan. '_That's a nasty glare…_' Nezumi averted her eyes to glance over the words in her textbook.

"Now, let's see if you can find ze unessential clause in zis sentence…" Mrs. Senda said as she started rattling off another sample sentence. Nezumi was bored before the subject reared its ugly head, having already mastered grammar at a young age.

'_Boring…why couldn't I have been put in the more advanced class?' _Nezumi let out a heavy sigh and stared at the curly-lettered notes she'd taken._ 'I wonder when Videl will leap outta her chair to fight off another baddie?_' Nezumi wondered as she started a small doodle based off of the information she'd heard about the Gold Fighter from that day. She stopped at his neck and puzzled over what shirt she would give the awkward, anime-like doodle.

"Gohan, I remembered something, what the Gold Fighter was said to be wearing." Videl started, eyeing Gohan suspiciously. He backed up subconsciously and made a nervous noise of understanding. "It was a white shirt, a black vest, and red pants. Sound familiar?"

'_Lots people dress the same way. Heck I ran into somebody at the mall once and they were pretty much my twin right down to the socks…well, not quite, but whatever._' Nezumi thought as she decided to scrap the sketch and move onto another doodle. She soon ran out of space and flipped to the next page in her notebook to practice drawing various animal skulls and aesthetic scribbles.

"Hey! That's funny!" Erasa said with a light laugh, "You and the Gold Fighter dress alike!"

"Y-yeah! Funny…" Gohan said with a nervous laugh.

"You four in ze back! Pay attention!" Mrs. Senda shouted. Erasa, Videl, Gohan, and Nezumi all jumped slightly and aimed their eyes at their respective textbooks.

"Y-yes ma'am." Gohan muttered, a nervous expression on his face.

"Should keep on your toes around Mrs. Senda, this teacher hates being interrupted." Nezumi whispered to Gohan, slightly miffed that she had been pulled into the group as a troublemaker.

"Thanks for the tip. I'll remember it." Gohan whispered back with a nod. Nezumi blushed slightly and nodded in return, turning away to follow along with the teacher's speech.

"Now zen, ze essential clause zat is…" Mrs. Senda said as she taught the class of mostly inattentive students.

"Heheheh…Come on, Videl." Sharpner said, quietly enough not to be noticed by the strict teacher before him and his classmates, "You _know_ 'e can't be the gold fighter! Who in the world has heard of a book nerd secretly being a superhero?" Sharpner asked with a laugh.

"Just about everyone who reads comic books…" Nezumi muttered as she sketched out the naked skull of a horse and started detailing the nasal cavity.

"You say somethin' Mouse?" Sharpner asked over Videl, Erasa, and Gohan.

"No, no. Just thinking out loud." Nezumi answered. It was true that she would often accidentally verbalize her thoughts, so Sharpner accepted the reason without conflict.

"Anyway, the guy's gotta be _buff_." Sharpner deduced. It made sense; any other person with super strength was typically very well built, if not, very skilled at manipulating his strength in his movements.

"Ignore him. I bet you could fight crime if you wanted." Erasa said to Gohan dismissively.

"Oh, I doubt it." Gohan said with a laugh. There was a bit of an awkward pause, but then Erasa spoke.

"So, uh, did you just move into the city? Maybe we could study at _your_ house." The blonde female said, her intentions made almost entirely obvious in her words.

'_Flirt._' Nezumi thought, shaking her head sadly. She'd moved to the eye socket and decided to place a floating horse's eye into the void, for the sake of being creepy.

"Well, actually, I commute here." Gohan admitted honestly.

"Oh, that's cool. Where from?" Erasa asked.

"The 439 mountain area. See, it's pretty small." Gohan said. Nezumi and Videl looked at Gohan like he'd grown a second head and Erasa stood in her surprise.

"What? Oh, get out of here! The 439 area is, like, five hundred miles away!" Erasa said none too loudly. Mrs. Senda noticed and slammed her book on her desk angrily.

'_Holy cheese dip! The 439 area? How does he get here, a jet-powered helicopter?_' Nezumi thought incredulously. It _was_ about five hundred miles off and even the fastest vehicle would take hours to get there.

"Hey! Excuse me miss, but I am _trying_ to teach a class here!" Mrs. Senda shouted over Erasa's outburst.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Erasa squeaked as she hid behind her textbook. Gohan looked worried and stared nervously at his book, possibly concerned he'd said the wrong thing.

"439? Dude! You must be nuts going to school here!" Nezumi whispered hurriedly to Gohan.

"But, this was the school I picked so…" Gohan whispered back with a shrug.

"Damn…you're one crazy kid, Gohan. You know that?" Nezumi said, shaking her head.

"How in the world do you _get_ here?" Erasa asked, "That's _gotta_ be close to a five-hour car drive." Nezumi nodded in agreement, Erasa vocalizing the brunette's earlier thoughts.

"Yes, well, uh, that's how dedicated I am to my education. Eheheh…" Gohan said nervously as he deferred his attention from his two neighbors to his notes and textbook.

"Now let's move forward, 'Creating ze Complex Sentence'. Can I get a volunteer to read ze sample paragraph?" Mrs. Senda asked, glancing over the class to find a volunteer.

"Hey, _brains_." Sharpner said, addressing Gohan, "Volunteer and show us how good you read."

"Wha-? M-me?" Gohan asked as he pointed to himself.

"Sharpner…don't pick on Gohan because he's new." Nezumi scolded the long-haired blonde.

"Alright then…Nezumi'll read it, Ma'am!" Sharpner called out. Nezumi jumped up and slammed her hands onto the desk as she sent a death glare to Sharpner.

"Sharpner! What're you doing?" She hissed. Mrs. Senda cleared her throat and Nezumi turned towards her with wide, scared eyes.

"Alright, Miss Tsukimo, please read the paragraph for us." Mrs. Senda prompted.

"Ah…uh…right. Thanks a lot, _pal_."Nezumi said, directing the last part to Sharpner. She picked up her textbook and flipped to the appropriate page.

"No problem, Mouse." Sharpner said with a smirk.

"Ahem, 'Mr. Satan went to the city that was then called Orange Star City and started a happy family.'" Nezumi read; it was careful, but didn't sound smooth to her ears. '_Oh, gawd! I sound like a retard reading this!_' Nezumi thought as the heat and color started rising to her face. "'After he beat Cell, who was very evil, the city changed its name. Even though the world is now safe, Mr. Satan keeps his fitness routine which includes running laps and breaking heavy rocks.'" Nezumi finished. Mrs. Senda nodded and Nezumi sat with a relieved sigh.

"That wasn't so bad, was it Mouse?" Sharpner asked Nezumi teasingly.

"Fuck you, Sharpner." Nezumi spat, her cheeks flushed with nervousness.

"You read fine, don't get so worked up about it." Gohan said, gently patting Nezumi on the back.

"Yeah, right. I'm a nervous wreck when I have to speak out loud in front of a crowd." Nezumi admitted, folding and setting her arms on the desk in front of her. "I'm just glad I didn't faint."

"Oh, relax Nezzie. It could've been worse." Erasa said, knowing how badly Nezumi hated reading out loud.

'_Pfft. Yeah right. I'll just stick to hiding in my notebook._' Nezumi thought, picking up her pencil and finishing the sketch of the horse's skull, unaware Gohan watched as her pencil lead feverishly scratched along the sheet of paper.

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Yadda yadda. You know the drill.


	3. Game Time

In Small Packages – Chapter 3 – Game Time

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Fleshing a few things out and doing a few edits.

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DISCLAIMER: Other than Nezumi, I own nothing! Not even the base plot! Almost all of this story belongs to Akira Toriyama, Toei Animation, and Funimation.**

**WARNING: There are smidgeons of bad words.**

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It was time for Gym class. Sharpner wore a lavender tee-shirt, a blue baseball cap with a yellow bill and an Orange Star symbol on the front, a pair of dark blue sweat pants, and a pair of tennis shoes. Erasa wore a bright green tee-shirt, a pair of white shorts, and white sneakers. Videl was dressed in her outfit from before, which also happened to be her training outfit, and Gohan was dressed in a dark blue long sleeve shirt, a pair of grey sweat pants, and a pair of blue and white trainers. Nezumi wore a blue-grey tee shirt with the symbol for "mountain" written in black on the back, a pair of tan skater's shorts that barely reached past her knees, and a pair of white and brown athletic trainers on her feet.

"Alright boys and girls, today we'll be battling it out in the great sport of baseball." The gym teacher, Mr. Ferston, said to the crowd of boys and girls in their gym clothes. Nezumi notably slumped forward and groaned loudly.

"Of all things, why baseball?" she moaned.

"Hm? Why do you say that, Nezumi?" Gohan asked curiously.

"I _hate_ baseball. It takes forever to play…besides that, I can't pitch or catch a ball _or_ swing a bat for beans. No matter what team I'm on, my team's gonna lose if I play. It's bound to happen, I just know it." Nezumi said dismally, "To top it all off, the sun's killing me."

"Aw, don't worry! Just relax and I'm sure you'll do fine, Nezumi." Gohan said, giving Nezumi an enthusiastic pat on the back that sent her sprawling on the ground with a loud "oomph".

"Thanks, Gohan." Nezumi said into the dirt. She leaned back onto her heels and started brushing herself off, Gohan apologizing repeatedly.

"Hey brains, you know what baseball is?" Sharpner asked, gaining Gohan's attention.

"Uh, yeah. Well…I've read a couple books about it…" Gohan answered. Nezumi got up and resumed dusting until most of the dirt and sand had come off.

"Oh, have you? Heheheh…Well, then I'm sure you'll be the next _all star_ on your team. Hey Mouse!" Nezumi jumped as Sharpner called her name and clapped a hand on her shoulder, "You're on my team." Nezumi sighed and her shoulders slumped, knowing she wouldn't be able to back out of the game. She mumbled several profanities and kicked at the dirt beneath her when Sharpner removed his hand. "Hey Videl, you can have him. My team just filled up." Sharpner said, indicating Gohan.

"Oh yeah, _thanks_." Videl said, none too pleased to have Gohan on her team.

"Come _on_! Give him a break! I bet he could think up a bunch of great strategies, since he's such a smarty!" Erasa said in Gohan's defense.

"Best of luck Gohan. With Sharpner against you, you'll need it." Nezumi said, emphasizing her point by poking Gohan in the arm.

"Oh, I'm sure I'll be fine. It's not like he'd purposely hit me with the ball or anything, right?" Gohan asked Nezumi as she looked up at him with deadpan look on her face.

'_He's doomed…_' Nezumi thought, shaking her head and walking towards her team's "dugout" benches, '_But it is adorable how naïve Gohan is. No wonder though, he had been home-schooled up until now._' She wondered as she took her seat and watched the first of her teammates go out to the batter's box, a silver bat in hand. Gohan quickly donned a hat and a right-hander's glove and sped out to right field where, Nezumi assumed, Videl had assigned him for the game.

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"Two innings and the score is even. Too bad I'm up next to bat…" Nezumi groaned as she placed her elbows on her knees and cradled her chin in her hands. She _really_ didn't want to bat as memories of her softball years kept playing back to her.

"You think you can actually hit the ball this time?" Her teammate Douggie asked in hid New-Yorkish accent. He'd been on Nezumi's team before and realized the girl's losing streak right away.

"Hardly. With one out already, I'm doomed to put the other team up to bat in seconds." Nezumi said with a sigh. She watched as Sharpner, the team's all-star batter and pitcher, picked up another silver bat and swung it experimentally in the batter's practice ring. The girl up to bat swung and the ball went sailing far enough so she could reach third; she was one of the better baseball players in the class. Sharpner strode confidently towards home plate, the bat resting casually on his shoulder. When he reached the box, he easily held the bat with one hand as he covered his mouth with the other, clearing his throat, and then set himself in the batter's pose.

"Hope you're ready for a strike." Videl called out. Sharpner chuckled and set his stance firmer, preparing to get _another_ home run for his already extensive collection. Videl pitched and Sharpner swung, sending a loud, metallic crack through the air as the ball went flying.

"It's a high one!" One of the students shouted excitedly.

"Gotta be a home run!" Another student shouted.

"Hey, Nez, even if you don't hit the ball, we'll at least get a point with Sharpner!" Douggie said as Nezumi took up her spot in the batter's ring, dragging the tip of a red and black bat in the dirt behind her.

"Gee, thanks for the vote of con…fi…dence…" Nezumi replied as she watched the high flying ball land in Gohan's glove. The catch wasn't what really surprised her, though: it was the combination of one of Sharpner's hits actually being caught and the fact that Gohan had jumped nearly thirty feet in the air to catch it. '_Whoa! Is that…is that Gohan? How in the world did he get up there?_' Nezumi marveled, her jaw long forgotten and very nearly laying in the dirt at her feet.

"Did you see that?" One of students asked. Nezumi and everyone else on the field watched as Gohan seemed to hover in his spot in the air before pitching the ball at high speed towards third base. The third baseman barely held on the smoking ball as the force of the pitch threw him backward, his heel barely resting on the edge of the base.

"Whoa! That ball was on fire!" Douggie shouted. Nezumi nodded numbly, having watched the ball, and turned her attention to the smoothly descending Gohan.

"Like, certain out." The student watching third base said, raising his hand into the air. (A/N: Still have no clue what he says.) When Gohan landed, he was smiling and set himself in a catching pose, but his smile vanished when he noticed everyone was looking at him in shock and surprise. Gohan put on a nervous face and moved quickly back to his team's space, trying to hide behind his cap.

"That move was beautiful, Gohan! You must've jumped twenty-five feet inta de air! Way to go, son!" The coach said proudly. Gohan regarded him with a nervous laugh and continued moving towards his team's space.

"Aww it was beginner's luck, I-I-I-I just got some new shoes! Yeah! With the air cusions, you know? They sure, make a difference, huh?" Gohan said nervously, approaching one of the benches.

"Right. It's gotta be the shoes." The coach said skeptically. He didn't push the issue and the game resumed. Nezumi grabbed a cap and her glove before making a quick run over to Gohan to marvel at his antics.

"Gohan!" Nezumi called out, gaining the boy's attention, "Gohan, that was amazing! How did you do that?" Nezumi gushed in amazement, it wasn't often she would see someone jump into the air thirty feet and come back down with ease.

"I-it's just new shoes Nezumi! N-nothing much. Heheh…eh…" Gohan said nervously as he waved his hands in front of him, his catching glove seated next to him on the bench.

"Well, whatever shoes those are, I wish I had a pair!" Nezumi said with a chuckle, gaining a laugh from Gohan as well. Sharpner shouted at her to get to her position and she quickly dismissed herself from Gohan's company. "Anyway, I'm off to left field. See ya." Gohan waved a goodbye and the student sitting on his right tapped his shoulder.

"Hey man, I think it's your turn up to bat, isn't it?" The student asked.

"Oh yeah! I'm up!" Gohan said as he stood and grabbed one of the silver bats lying near the batter's box, "Hold on guys, here I come!" He said, jogging to the batter's box like an excited little kid, holding the bat awkwardly all the while.

'_Gohan, you dweeb! You make a world-record jump and now you're running like a pansy? What's with you?_' Nezumi thought as she took her place on the field and prepared to stand there for the rest of the inning. Nobody ever hit balls towards left field unless they were left-handed, which, fortunately for Nezumi, hardly anybody was. With that in mind, Nezumi felt confident that she'd just be standing there until she was up to bat in the next inning. Then she saw Gohan take the left-hander's stance and started worrying. '_He pitched right, didn't he? Why's he atanding left-handed? Is he ambidextrous or something?_' Nezumi thought, readjusting her stance to actually catch Gohan's hit and shaking her head to still the thoughts, '_Why am I so curious? Focus, Nezzie. Just hope he doesn't hit as hard as he throws…_' She faintly heard Sharpner say something to Gohan and then he started his signature "Concussion Pitch", a throw that was aimed at the batter to get them to duck out of cowardice or suffer, as the name implies, a serious concussion. "Oh shit! Look out, Gohan!" Nezumi shouted. Several of the other students watched worriedly, especially as Sharpner unwound the pitch and let the ball fly.

"Watch out!" Videl shouted. It was too late, Gohan was hit and he recoiled as the ball made contact. Nezumi and several other students were terrified for his wellbeing.

"That's gotta hurt…" Nezumi said as she winced and turned away from the batter's box, covering her eyes and gnawing on her lip worriedly. When she turned back, Gohan seemed perfectly fine without even a red mark to show he was hit. "Smacked with Sharpner's classic "Concussion Pitch" …and…he's running to first. The hell is Gohan made of?" Nezumi marveled as Gohan cheerily jogged to first base. She determined there was much more to Gohan than everyone thought.

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"School's out at last. I never thought that game would go on as long as it did." Nezumi sighed as she tiredly pulled her books out of her locker and stuffed them into her messenger bag. She then hauled a duffel bag out of her locker and waited as Gohan, her locker neighbor, gathered his things.

"Hey, at least you got a hit off of that ball. You even made it to second." Gohan said as he beamed down at Nezumi. She blushed and turned to stare at a small dent in her forest-green-colored locker.

"Barely…but…you're right. I did make it." Nezumi admitted, turning to Gohan and playfully punching him in the arm, "Maybe you're a walking good luck charm."

"Naw, I wouldn't say that, Nez." Gohan answered, recalling several events where he didn't feel quite so lucky.

"What're you talking about? You took Sharpner's pitch without so much as a bruise! What was that if not good luck?" Nezumi said, smacking Gohan on the arm. Just then, Sharpner was walking along the hallway and paused when he spotted Gohan.

"Gohan. What clubs have ya joined?" He asked. Nezumi and Gohan turned to regard the muscled blond.

"I haven't joined any." Gohan answered sheepishly.

"Good, you can join the boxing club." Sharpner said with a smirk, "With a little practice, you just might become a good fighter." Gohan laughed slightly and Nezumi rolled her eyes. Sharpner was always looking for a new punching bag and one that could withstand his Concussion Pitch was more than worthy of joining the Boxing Team.

"Thanks. But I don't think I can join any clubs, 'cuz, uh-" Gohan started as Erasa came along and interrupted.

"'Cuz he's got an extra, _extra_ long drive home and doesn't have any time to spend on clubs, right Gohan?" The blonde female asked. It made sense: Gohan would probably be doing his homework on the way home, he'd eat, sleep, wake up, eat, snooze or do more homework in the car ride to school, and then do it over again. Five hours make for a _really_ long trip.

"Yeah, that's it." Gohan said, smiling and nodding at Erasa's conclusion. Nezumi shouldered her book bag over her head and carried her duffel in her left hand, waiting for her turn to speak.

"Now, Gohan. What say you give me a ride home on your way out?" Erasa said, dropping hint bombs again. Nezumi smiled and shook her head; Erasa would never change, not as long as there were cute boys in the world.

"Oh, well, uh…I'm afraid my ride is just a one-seater." Gohan said with a small shrug.

"I've got room in my car, Erasa." Sharpner said, slightly miffed at being forgotten in the conversation.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Gohan said with a smile, "You two have fun. Bye." Gohan waved a farewell to Erasa and Sharpner while Nezumi hurried to catch up to her new friend.

"Say Gohan, can I ask you something?" Nezumi started, tilting her head at an angle where she could look at him without hurting her neck.

"Uh, sure. What is it Nez?" Gohan asked curiously.

"You live up in the 439 area, so what's the view like? I'm working on an art project and we're supposed to pick a spot we wouldn't normally go to or places we haven't gone to before the project." Nezumi answered, referring to the only class she and Gohan didn't share.

"Well, it's a great place. Mostly forest, but a great view all around from the mountaintops. There are a few dinosaurs and saber tooth cats to watch for, but it's a really safe place." Gohan answered pleasantly. It wasn't often Gohan got to talk about the area where he, his dad, and his little brother grew up.

"Really? Wow! Maybe if I have time to go up there this weekend I'll drop by and say hello or something." Nezumi said, smiling and faintly blushing up at Gohan. '_Then again, that means I'll have to borrow daddy's car. Hmm…_'

"That'd be nice! I hadn't had any friends over in a while! Well, except for Picollo, Krillin, Puar and Yamcha." Gohan said, referring to the friends he'd had for most of his young life.

"Alright!" Nezumi said with a nod, "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow Gohan!" Nezumi said as she spotted her father's car parked out in front of the school. She had to hurry, her extracurricular classes would be starting soon.

"Bye, Nezumi!" Gohan called out, waving a goodbye to his new friend. She waved back as she put her stuff in the backseat of her father's car and hopped into the passenger seat. Nezumi and her father sped off moments later.

"So, who was that, Nezzie?" Nezumi's father asked suspiciously.

"His name is Gohan. He's the new kid in school and showed up today." Nezumi answered, "Gohan's really nice, smart, friendly, and quite the athlete." She said as she grabbed one of the water bottles her dad always had in the front of his car and cracked open the top. She then proceeded to take grateful gulps of the life-giving liquid inside. Her father watched the road and occasionally glanced at his daughter suspiciously, it wasn't often she would be this cheery after a day of school.

* * *

I'm still surprised it took 3 chapters to illustrate one episode.


	4. The Great Saiyaman

In Small Packages – Chapter 4 – The Great Saiyaman

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Hey folks! 'Nother chapter! ^_^

Got a message from someone saying that Nezumi was going to be a Mary-Sue. No. Just no. I will do everything in my power to keep Nezzie from becoming a Mary-Sue! Everything!

So what if Nezzie hates baseball, has an extracurricular activity, draws a lot, and likes the cute new guy? That sounds pretty average to me. Besides, I've already gone through the whole high school thing. I think I have a pretty good idea of what goes on in a high school student's life as well as their head.

Also, prepare yourselves for old DBZ characters! They aren't in this chapter, but they're on their way! ^_^

…

Anyway, here's another chapter. Enjoy.

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**DISCLAIMER: Guess what? I own Nezumi! I don't own anything else, other than the teensy weensy alterations to the plot. Akira Toriyama, Toei Animation, FUJI TV and Funimation are responsible for bringing Dragonball Z into existence and to the general public.**

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"Bye, daddy! I'm off to school!" Nezumi said as she was headed out the front door of her and her father's apartment.

"Alright, have fun Nezzie." Her father said with a wave. As soon as the door shut behind his daughter he was back to reading his newspaper.

'_Jeeze! I can't wait to tell to everyone at school! That super hero guy…what was his name? 'The Great Saiyaman' …he looked pretty good in spandex. Wonder what everyone else heard about him? I wonder what they'll think when I tell them I saw him in action!_' Nezumi thought excitedly as she jogged to school, the Great Saiyaman on her mind the whole way.

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"Hm…" Nezumi sighed as she penciled a rough human shape in her notebook.

"What's up, Mousie? You daydreamin' again?" Erasa asked, noticing Nezumi was a little more out of it than she usually was.

"Uh? W-well, it's nothing, Erasa." Nezumi dismissed, her face slightly flushed for have been caught zoning out on the superhero she saw yesterday.

"Aha! You don't have to tell me anything. You're thinking about Gohan, aren't you?" Erasa asked with a wink. Nezumi recoiled and the flush on her face grew a shade deeper as she shook her head in the universal sign for "negative".

"N-no I'm not!" Nezumi stuttered.

"Aww! You're so cute when you're flustered, Mousie!" Erasa said as she hugged Nezumi and ruffled her hair. Nezumi grumbled and started flailing her arms to get free.

"Sh-shut up!" Nezumi shouted. She finally got free of Erasa's grip and leaned protectively over her notebook, glaring daggers at her blonde female friend. She dropped the glare as Gohan walked into the classroom.

"Morning guys!" Gohan said as he reached his usual seat, having snuck around behind Nezumi to get there. Nezumi grunted a hello while Videl and Sharpner nodded their greetings.

"Hey Gohan!" Erasa said in her usual flirty tone.

"Say, Nez, why's your face all red? You sick or something?" Gohan asked, noticing Nezumi's hiding face and red-tinged cheeks.

"N-no…it's nothing." Nezumi said, almost willing the blush to fade away.

"She's just flustered is all!" Erasa said with a cheerful giggle, successfully taking Gohan's attention off of Nezumi. Videl rolled her eyes and leaned forward to join the conversation.

"Erasa, did you try reading the dictionary again?" Videl asked. Erasa covered her mouth and giggled with a slight blush on her cheeks. It'd be adorable if she hadn't tried learning new words every week.

"Huh?" Gohan asked cluelessly.

"Erasa always does this when she finds a word she likes: she'll use it over and over until we can't stand it anymore." Sharpner supplied, Erasa giving him a disapproving look.

"Uh…okay." Gohan said, pulling out his science book and notebook. Glancing at Nezumi, who was engrossed in her sketching: she had managed to give Saiyaman a rough sketch of the gi he wore and was beginning to make his cape and helmet.

'_Damn you Erasa. It was that Saiyaman guy…not Gohan…_' Nezumi thought angrily as she continued drawing what she remembered seeing of that Saiyaman guy. She retold the event in her head from when she first noticed him to when he disappeared into the sky:

_Nezumi had gone shopping after she finished her homework and was heading home after gathering the groceries and a few trinkets for herself. She was walking down the sidewalk, minding her own business, when she saw a mess of cars and angry drivers along the road. She hurried ahead and was surprised to see a yellow capsule car driving headlong down the road with no consideration for the other people on the roadway. Suddenly, a man descended from the sky and shouted "Stop you fiend!", very alike to a comic book hero, and landed squarely in the path of the renegade drivers._

_The car quickly came to a halt in front of the man and the driver yelled angrily at the flying man. Eager to get a better look, Nezumi ran faster along the sidewalk and studied the caped crusader from about twenty or so feet away: he wore a red cape, a green, sleeveless gi jacket, white gloves, white boots with yellow toes, a black full-body spandex suit beneath, and an orange-red helmet that hid most of his face. She heard him shout his name: The Great Saiyaman. When the driver mocked the caped crusader for his name and his outfit, the super hero stomped angrily, easily punching a hole into the road. Nezumi stared at him, amazed at his abilities as he picked up the vehicle out of the hole and set it back on the road. The driver and his passenger thanked the super hero and sped off, safely this time._

_The Great Saiyaman, proud of his work, placed his hands on his hips and looked around proudly. When he was faced in Nezumi's general direction, he paused and appeared to gulp nervously. Nezumi then noticed the creamy-yellow book bag slung over his shoulder right before he flew off into the air. Nezumi watched as the superhero became a dot in the sky and ran home to tell her father what she saw._

"Say, does Nezumi often scribble in her notebook like that?" Gohan whispered to Erasa.

"Only when she gets frustrated about something." Erasa said dismissively, also noting Nezumi's avid sketching. Just then, the teacher walked in and dropped his books loudly onto the desk.

"Alright class! Break out your text books!" Mr. Burns said, loud enough to be heard over the noise of the classroom. Several students groaned and everyone eventually complied, taking out their science books and plunking them onto the desk in front of them.

---

"So, you see the new energy molecule is very complex. In fact, well, I'm not even sure _I_ understand it." Mr. Burns said as he taught the science class. Nezumi had doodled sketch after sketch, but couldn't get the helmet on Saiyaman's head just quite right. Gohan glanced at her notebook and quickly returned his attention to his book, worried about something, but Nezumi was too engrossed in getting the antennae on the helmet _just_ right.

"You know? A new hero appeared yesterday! Yep. A-and stopped some kamikaze drivers!" a student seated in front of Gohan whispered to his neighbor, "Yeah, but they say he's not the gold fighter." Nezumi and Gohan perked at this new information.

"Yeah, I heard he's not." The second student, Lenard, answered.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Lenard." Nezumi said, "I saw him myself! His strength is _unbelievable_! With one stomp of his foot, he smashed a hole right through the road!" Nezumi gushed, excited to be able to brag about this amazing new super human.

"What? No way! You saw him Mousie?" Erasa asked, leaning forward around Gohan.

"Yeah! He really saved the day! Who knows how many people could've been hurt by those jerks." Nezumi nodded, "He's a real hero." She finished by folding her arms over her chest and making a firm nod with her head.

"Yeah, uh, they call him 'The Great _Singing_ Man'!" The first student said excitedly.

"It's 'The Great Saiyaman'!" Gohan and Nezumi shouted simultaneously. Nezumi looked confusedly at Gohan and he looked around nervously, as if he'd said too much. Everyone turned to look at Gohan, he'd apparently voiced himself too loud.

"How in the world do _you_ know that, Gohan? I mean, I understand Mousie knowing, but you?" Erasa asked, tapping Gohan on the shoulder.

"Yeah, how do you know that? You shouldn't know that." Lenard said.

"Be-because Nezumi here saw him herself! A-and she's my locker neighbor, so I heard all about him! Eheheh…" Gohan said nervously. Nezumi decided to jump in at that point.

"Y-yeah! I told him! Duh, guys, it was totally obvious." Nezumi said with a confident smile. She turned towards Gohan and he nodded gratefully. '_I'll back you up this time, Gohan, but I'd like an explanation later._' Nezumi thought, reminding herself to interrogate the new student later.

"Well now, is there something you'd like to share with the class, Gohan? How about you, Nezumi?" The teacher asked, gaining the two students' attention, panicked looks decorating their faces.

"Eh…no!" Gohan squeaked nervously. Nezumi shook her head and blushed red, maneuvering her book so she could hide behind it. Just then, Videl's wristwatch alarm went off, taking all the attention away from the previous events.

"Yes? Go ahead, Captain." Videl asked.

"Videl! There's been a hijacking in the city bus terminal!" a man on the other end of the speaker shouted, "A trio of hooligans have taken over a tour bus full of senior citizens and are holding them all for ransom!" There was a scream and the sound of gunshots with the garbled voice of, what Nezumi assumed, was one of the bad guys. "Videl, you've got to help us!"

"Stay calm! I'm on my way!" Videl said as she leapt out of her seat and ran down the steps towards the door, "May I be excused professor, thank you!" Without waiting for an answer, she was through the door and gone down the hallway.

"Well actually, I d-okay, on you go then." The teacher mumbled as Videl vanished.

"What wrong with her? She sick?" Gohan asked, concerned by Videl's sudden departure.

"No, silly! She went to fight the hijackers!" Erasa answered with a smile.

"All by herself?!" Gohan asked, obviously very surprised.

"Of course. I mean, she _is_ the daughter of Mr. Satan, ya know." Erasa said, waving away the subject.

"Yeah, Gohan. She does it all the time." Nezumi said, as if it truly did happen as often as the sun rose and set.

"She's always going out there and saving us from the nasties." Erasa said with a giggle.

"But…that's not safe." Gohan said worriedly. Nezumi patted him on the back and laughed lightly.

"There's really no need to worry, Gohan. Videl can lift even more weights than _I_ can." Sharpner said. It was as if him lifting more weights than anyone else in the world was a known and common fact.

"Trust me Gohan, that's a lot of weights." Nezumi added assuredly.

"She's been training her whole life and some say she's as strong as her father now." Sharpner added, now very confident of Videl's abilities. Gohan looked to be in thought for a moment and then he set his face determinedly. Nezumi was surprised when Gohan jumped up and ran towards the exit.

"And where might you be-" The teacher started.

"Bathroom!" Gohan said before vanishing out the doorway.

"Bathroom?" Erasa asked, a slightly confused and disgusted face decorating the front side of her head.

"Well, Erasa, when nature calls, you have to answer." Nezumi said with a shrug. She refocused her attention to her notebook and her science book. A small chibi drawing of one of her favorite cartoon characters decorated the bottom right corner of her notes, he looked suspiciously like the superhero she saw yesterday. Nezumi groaned inwardly. '_Dammit. I'm obsessed. There goes my sanity._"

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Doo dee doo! That's chapter 4! ^_^

Review please?


	5. Heroes

In Small Packages – Chapter 5 – Heroes

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With this chapter, I'll have over 10,000 words in my story…wow. At least it isn't like one of my never-completed-and-never-posted stories: in only the first two chapters I'd reached over 12,000 words! XP

I noticed there is a private message system, so if you have an idea for my story, please let me know! I wanna hear your thoughts, opinions, and ideas for how this story should end up!

And thanks for the reviews, guys! It's really helpful! ^_^

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**DISCLAIMER: I only own Nezumi and the smidge of alterations to the original DBZ plotline. Everything else (characters, scenery, and most of the dialogue) belongs to Akira Toriyama, Toei Animation, FUJI TV, and Funimation.**

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Gohan crept around the halls, blending into the crowd of students. Unfortunately one person spotted him despite the crowd. When Gohan turned a corner a breathed a sigh of relief, the girl made her move.

"Hey Gohan! Enjoy your bathroom break?" Nezumi said as she rounded the corner after Gohan.

"Oh! Hey Nez! Eh…uh…well, heh! Wh-when you gotta go…" Gohan stuttered, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Nezumi sighed and folded her arms over her chest.

"Save it. I don't need the details." Nezumi said, holding up her hand to tell Gohan to stop. Gohan stopped his stuttering and looked around nervously while Nezumi continued. "Although, I do want to know one thing…how _did_ you hear about the Great Saiyaman? You barely arrived on time this morning."

"Wh-what?" Gohan asked, a fearful expression on his face.

"I know _I_ didn't tell you and you would've been miles away from Satan city by the time he showed up." Nezumi said, poking Gohan in the chest to emphasize her point, "How did you hear about the Great Saiyaman?"

"Ngh…well, uh…okay, listen, I have a couple friends in the city. And they _did_ know about the Great Saiyaman! They saw him! Honest!" Gohan said, rather quickly, hoping that Nezumi would buy his story.

"You_ sure_? I was there, too, ya know." Nezumi asked, narrowing her eyes and studying Gohan suspiciously.

"Honest! Cross my heart and hope to die." Gohan said as he made an imaginary "x" over his heart with his right index finger. Nezumi sighed and nodded, not entirely content with her friend's answer but accepting of it anyway.

"Fine, I believe you. Now come on, we have to get to English class." She said, nodding her head in the direction of the assigned English classroom. Gohan sighed, relieved and led the way as Nezumi followed, staring a hole in Gohan's vest. '_I know it isn't a big deal, but the fact he flat out lied to everyone in class got me thinking. Damn me and my overactive thoughts._' Nezumi stopped her thought process as she and Gohan entered the room with several other students and took their selected seats.

--- The next day, Friday ---

"Tonight I'll head up to Mt. Paozu. I can get some snapshots for my project and…" Nezumi said to herself taking noted on the schedule she planned out for her, admittedly a little outrageous, art project. She needed the "A" though, and would push a trip to Mt. Paozu to be able to do it.

"What's up Mousie? Planning a weekend up at Paozu?" Erasa said as she looked at the schedule over Nezumi's shoulder.

"Yep. I'm gonna work on my art project over Saturday and some of Sunday." Nezumi said with a smile. The trip would be worthwhile even if she didn't get to work on her project over the two days.

"Wow! You must really be dedicated to your art!" Erasa said, setting her elbow in the desk in front of her and resting her cheek in her palm.

"Hadn't been more dedicated to anything else." Nezumi answered with a shrug. It was true, though, of all of her classes, she appreciated and dedicated her energies towards creativity and literature more than anything else.

"Well say hi to Gohan for me. He lives up near Paozu, doesn't he?" Erasa asked casually, remembering Gohan's long-distance commute and the conversation that got her in some trouble with Mrs. Senda.

"I'll see if my schedule allows." Nezumi said, gnawing on the eraser of her pencil as she, once again, studied her weekend schedule. Just then, the door slid open and shut, Gohan inside and hurrying up the steps towards his seat. When he got to his spot, he as panting slightly as if he'd just been running.

"Hey Gohan! You're on time. Little miracles happen every day." Sharpner said with a smirk.

"Only barely." Nezumi said as she rolled her eyes, "Gohan, you've gotta set an earlier alarm or something. Being late to Mr. Ductoi's class is never a good thing." Nezumi advised, remembering the last time _she'd _arrived late to the teacher's class.

"I'll try to remember that." Gohan said sheepishly. He squeaked nervously when a red-haired girl with curly hair suddenly walked into the room and took her seat, glancing at Gohan all the while. Gohan groaned and tried to make himself invisible in his seat and behind his text book.

"What's with you, Gohan?" Nezumi asked. She spotted the red-head staring at Gohan with large, sparkly eyes. After looking back and forth between Gohan and the girl, she smirked devilishly. "Ahh, I get it."

"Get what?" Gohan asked innocently.

"Nevermind." Nezumi dismissed. '_How cute, the class bimbo is crushing on Gohan. I give it a week at the most._' She thought, noting the girl Angela's habit of finding a cute boy, guilting him into a date, and shrugging him off like an old sweater when a cuter or more muscular guy happened along her path. The teacher walked in during the conversation and started the lesson: the "Theory of Thoreau" as it was affectionately dubbed.

"Alright class, let's continue where we left off yesterday, now what did Thoreau mean when he said, "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation"? Videl?" Mr. Ductoi asked. The girl stood, a book in her hands.

"I think that he meant that most people are unhappy inside." Videl said, somewhat robotically. Nezumi hadn't been paying much attention to what had gone on yesterday, but apparently Videl had recited an answer similar to this one before.

"Very good. And what did he attribute this to? Gohan?" Mr. Ductoi praised as Videl retook her seat. Gohan, however, was not quite paying attention.

"Psst! Earth to Gohan!" Nezumi whispered to Gohan. It didn't get his attention and she shook her head in defeat, taking up her text book and waiting for the teacher's judgment.

"Is anybody home?" Mr. Ductoi prompted, "So, hm…we have a slacker."

"..my gosh I shouldn't've landed there…that was so stupid! I bet the whole school is going to know by the end of the day…" Gohan muttered to himself, too far gone in his thoughts to notice the teacher approaching his desk.

"Gohan." Mr. Ductoi half-shouted. Gohan, still slightly out of it, looked up curiously. He leapt back in his seat when he realized the teacher was directly in front of him.

"Waah! Sir! What?" Gohan asked, somewhat panicky. The teacher merely glared at him and spoke in a quiet, fierce tone.

"So this is the way you want it to be, huh Gohan?" Mr. Ductoi asked, disappointment swimming in his tone, "I was expecting more from you."

"Sir! Yes, sir!" Gohan said nervously, standing at attention. Videl started to laugh but covered it with a fake sneeze and Nezumi paid special attention to the words in her book, determined not to get in trouble with the strict teacher. Mr. Ductoi told Gohan to pick up the two water buckets he had sitting by his desk and escorted Gohan to the hall to stand right outside the classroom. Before closing the door, Mr. Ductoi spoke:

"Listen up, class. I don't give lashes or make you wear a dunce cap, but after you hold these water buckets for fifteen minutes, you're gonna wish I did." He said strictly. Ductoi then turned his attention to Gohan, "Feel your shoulders burnin', mister Gohan?"

"Oh, yes sir." Gohan answered nervously.

"Good." Ductoi said, closing the door behind him and walking back towards his desk to pick up the book he'd set down earlier. "Now, who can tell us what Thoreau felt was causing the inner desperation that he sensed in his peers? What do you think miss Angela?" Ductoi asked. The red-haired girl, Angela, sighed; she was in her own little world. "Miss Angela?" Ductoi asked, getting frustrated with his students' attentiveness, "Let's start with an easier question: Angela, do you know where you _are_?"

"Uh-huh." The girl answered dully.

"Either someone missed their coffee this morning or she's become a space cadet." Nezumi whispered to Erasa. The blonde girl shrugged in response.

"Who knows." She answered, "Maybe she's crushing on a guy again." Nezumi nodded and returned to secretly watching the exchange between Mr. Ductoi and Angela.

"Alright then, spit it out." Mr. Ductoi said, his temper beginning to rise in his voice.

"Uh, ah…I'm sorry, professor! I-I-I don't know! I don't know anything!" Angela said, breaking into sobs. Nezumi blinked in disbelief, she never thought Angela was that good an actress.

"Uh…uh, Angela, uh, perhaps you should go visit the counselor." Mr. Ductoi said, struggling to placate the "distraught" girl.

"No! No! I _need_ to be punished!" Angela shouted, sounding like she truly was in tears. Nezumi mentally applauded Angela's performance; she'd do very well in a soap opera.

"Uh, very well, you can listen to the lecture through the window with mister Gohan." Mr. Ductoi tried. He was then surprised by Angela's sudden response.

"Okay, sir!" Angela said, cheery and bubbly as if nothing had happened. She jogged down the steps and out the door. "Thanks professor!" She said before shutting the door behind her and vanishing from sight.

"My word…alright, mister Douglas, what did Thoreau think was causing the inner desperation of his peers?" Mr. Ductoi tried the question a third time, hoping for an answer this time.

"Well sir…" Douglass "Duggie" started. HE explained what he thought was the answer along with the answer provided in the textbook.

---

"Alright, daddy, I'll be back Sunday night." Nezumi said, hugging her father goodbye.

"Take care Nezzie, and give me a ring when you're done setting up your capsule house." Nezumi's dad said, giving his daughter a kiss on the forehead.

"I will, daddy." Nezumi answered, kissing her father on his prickly cheek, "See you Sunday. Bye!" She said as she hopped into the Capsule car and drove off towards the far off 439 mountain area. After twenty minutes, she was leaving the crowded concrete forest and entering the suburban area of Satan City. "_Finally_! I can listen to my stations again! I still can't believe daddy thinks my tastes in music will turn me into a punk rocker. He's so old fashion!" Nezumi laughed as she switched on the radio. She twirled the dial, dancing from station to station until she heard the last bars of one of her latest favorite songs.

"That was Donnie LaToure with his latest hit "_Pathfinder_" and the last song of our show." The announcer Kenneth "Ken" D. said. The sound effect for an audience saying "Aww" played after his sentence.

"Aww, shoot! That's one of my favorite songs, too." Nezumi said, snapping the fingers on her right hand in frustration as her left hand casually gripped the wheel.

"Now allow me to introduce Mr. Kirt from ZTV with a news update on our newest super hero!" Ken D said, followed by the sound effect of an audience cheering.

"Thanks Ken. Greetings, Satan City! This is a news update on the super hero, The Great Saiyaman!" Mr. Kirt said, enthusiastic with having news of the new superhero.

"Score!" Nezumi said, pumping her free hand into the air. '_Wonder what they've seen him do now?_' She thought as she turned up the volume by two clicks.

"Yesterday, just shy of eleven o' clock in the morning, a tour bus of senior citizens was hijacked by three armed troublemakers!" Mr. Kirt said, earning a confirming nod from Nezumi, "First on the scene was our town heroine: Videl Satan! She made a valiant effort to save the passengers and managed to nullify the three troublemakers within a few hair-raising minutes!" Nezumi could just imagine Videl's fans cheering and celebrating around their radios.

"Epic." Nezumi said, having not heard all of the previous day's events from Videl.

"However, the driver of the bus had been knocked out and so could not control the bus as it drove full speed over the edge of a cliff!" Mr. Kirt said, false terror lacing his words.

"Oh no! What happened next, Mr. Kirt?" Ken D asked worriedly.

"Amazingly, the Great Saiyaman appeared in time to rescue the bus from its fall along with all the people in it. After restraining the hooligans, the Great Saiyaman rushed off into the sky. The authorities arrived mere moments later and apprehended the criminals while Videl returned to Satan city in her helicopter. She and the police escorted the tour bus of senior citizens back to the bus terminal and everyone was saved." Mr. Kirt concluded, speaking as if he were the narrator of an exciting action cartoon.

"Wow! What a story!" Ken D said, the sound effect of applause playing after him, "Thank you for sharing that update Mr. Kirt!"

"Any time, Ken!" Kirt said, Nezumi imagined a big grin on the reporter's face.

"You heard it right here folks on Znewz! Don't turn that dial, 'cuz coming up next, I have Mr. Beachers to discuss the latest trends and fash-!" Nezumi cut off Ken D by switching to another channel.

"Well, that's enough of that. Music time!" Nezumi celebrated as she found another of her favorite stations where an upbeat rock song was playing. '_Wow, Satan city has been getting a lot of publicity lately. First Videl becomes a hero and then the Great Saiyaman shows up…hm. I wonder whatever happened to that Gold Fighter guy. Hadn't heard anything about him in the past couple days._' Nezumi thought, absently noting the "Thank you for visiting Satan City" sign as she sped along the now almost barren roadway. "Ha! What am I thinking? The Gold Fighter shows up one day with super strength and _magic powers_ and then vanishes before the end of the day. Then Saiyaman shows…up…" Nezumi trailed off as her thoughts started to process the information and put some pieces together, "Could Saiyaman actually be this Gold Fighter in disguise? Now I've _gotta_ know!" Nezumi said excitedly, wishing to know what exactly lay beneath Saiyaman's helmet.

Maybe it _was_ the gold fighter, his glowing golden hair crushed beneath a helmet to keep from being recognized. Nezumi didn't know, but there was an itch in the back of her mind: a familiarity between Saiyaman and somebody else. Maybe it was the Gold Fighter, but Nezumi wasn't sure; she'd never met the Gold fighter before.

Or had she?

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Teehee! Chapter 5 is here! The next chapter is almost ready for posting, so stay tuned.

Reviews are nice! :3


	6. La la la Paozu

In Small Packages – Chapter 6 – La la la Paozu

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Please don't kill me? I'm SO sorry it's late! I just had absolutely _no_ motivation to do this for quite a while.

Anyway, "Paozu" is pronounced like "powz" in both the original Japanese and English dub (and it's spelled like "Paozu" in the subs, so yeah). Sorry, I forgot to mention that earlier…

To make up for my INSANE absence from this story, I decided to make this story about twice as long as some of my prior ones. I hope you like! :3

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**DISCLAIMER: I only own Nezumi and the small changes from the original DBZ plot. All the other characters and plot devices belong to Akira Toriyama, Toei Animation, FUJI TV, and Funimation. Please support the official release, because I do and I haven't gotten in trouble for doing the right thing yet.**

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Nezumi had finally made it to Mt. Paozu with the sun barely a hand's breadth high above the horizon. After the long trip, and a couple pit-stops, Nezumi was anxious to go for a walk. After setting up her one-person capsule house, Nezumi sat down heavily on one side of the couch and grabbed the receiver of the telephone next to her. Her fingers danced over the number buttons, easily tapping out her home phone number. There was a pause and then a loud dial tone. After two rings, Nezumi's father picked up the phone and the father and daughter shared a short conversation.

"Well, it was good to hear you made it there safe and sound, sweetheart. Call me when you get ready to go, okay Nezzie?" Her father asked, prompting a positive response.

"Yes, daddy. I'll let you know when I'm set. Bye bye." Nezumi answered cheerfully.

"See you Sunday." Her father confirmed. Nezumi hung up the phone first and jumped from her seat on the couch. She stretched her legs to free up the kinks and then walked out the front door, locking the house closed behind her.

"Well, it's getting dark. Maybe I should head back." Nezumi muttered, having followed a well-worn path for the past ten minutes. Before she could make up her mind to turn around, though, she spotted a small human shape with a very wild hairstyle. "Who's that little kid?" Nezumi wondered, hurrying along the path to catch up to the child. He was wearing a blue and orange fighting gi outfit, had his hands folded behind his head, and was humming a tune. When Nezumi caught up to him she asked, "Hey, uh, excuse me kid, but are you lost?"

"Me? No way! I've lived around here since I was born!" The boy answered with a smile and a laugh.

"Oh…okay. So, uh, what's your name kid?" Nezumi asked, somewhat concerned a seven-year-old would have no concern about living so close to the wilds of Mt. Paozu.

"My name is Goten! What's your name?" The boy answered cheerfully, offering a handshake. Nezumi smiled and knelt to Goten's level, taking his hand and giving it a good shake.

"Nezumi, but my friends like calling me Nez or Mouse." She introduced. When the two let go of each other's hands, Goten seemed to go into thought for a moment.

"Hmmm…oh yeah! I remember now!" Goten said, remembering something he was told, "Gohan said his friend Nezumi was coming to Mt. Paozu for the weekend! Are you her?" The little boy asked excitedly. Nezumi couldn't help but laugh, the boy was adorable.

"Yep! That's me!" Nezumi answered with a smile, "So, are you Gohan's little brother?" She asked, standing once again.

"Yeah! He's the _best_ big brother _ever_! And he's _so_ cool!" Goten gushed, waving his arms about for emphasis. Nezumi couldn't help but smile at him as he started spinning in place, still gushing praise for his older brother.

"You're adorable kid. Say, do you think your family would mind if I paid a visit?" Nezumi asked, effectively halting Goten's spinning. He paused for a minute, folded his hands behind his head and grinned widely.

"Nah! Not at all! My momma would love to meet you!" Goten said with a laugh.

"Well, thank you, Goten." Nezumi said, smiling and nodding at the younger boy, "Say, do you mind if I grab my car and capsule house first?" Nezumi asked, taking her right thumb and indicating the general location of capsule house she had set up a short while earlier. Goten nodded and followed along as Nezumi returned to her capsule house and pressed the small button on the right side of the door beneath the doorbell. The house disappeared in a cloud of thick smoke and was replaced by a capsule no bigger than Nezumi's index finger. After slipping the capsule into its slot in Nezumi's capsule case, next to the capsule that contained her vehicle, she turned to face Goten. "Well, that's everything. Lead the way, Goten." Goten cheered and started running back towards his home as Nezumi jogged behind him, laughing most of the way. '_Awww! He's so cute! I'd kill to have a baby brother like him!_' Nezumi giggled at the thought of a younger her running around and being adorable.

Soon, Goten led Nezumi through the woods, along a beaten and well-traveled path, over a stream, and finally into a clearing where a dirt road could be seen running up the slope. The road, beaten by some not-too-frequent travelers, led up to a capsule house with several cabin-like additions attached on. Not five yards from the house was what looked to be a tiny one-room shrine, worn by the weather and years it had been standing. Goten laughed as he ran up to the front door of the newer building and quickly opened the door without hesitation, ushering Nezumi inside.

"Momma! Momma! I'm home!" Goten called as he took off his shoes and set them at the doorstep. Nezumi sat to remove her own shoes and Goten walked happily into the house. Nezumi quickly followed and glanced around the modest, but surprisingly spacious, home. The first room was something of a kitchen slash dining area with a domed appearance, the walls white but inviting, and was decorated by a table here, some flowers there, and a bookcase standing near the entrance of the house. Nezumi noticed a woman standing in the kitchen tending to a pot. At Goten's entrance the woman turned and faced him with a smile.

"Ah, hello Goten how was-hm? Who's this, Goten?" The woman asked curiously with a twinge of suspicion in her voice; the Son family didn't often get visitors this late. Nezumi quickly analyzed the woman: she looked to be in her late thirties, had her ebony black hair tied in a tight and neat bun, and she wore a purple apron over a purple-trimmed yellow Chinese-style dress which itself was over a pair of teal-blue pants. Her dark eyes appeared to be studying Nezumi as well and the metal ladle in her left hand appeared a bit threatening to the visitor. Goten disarmed the moment by tugging on his mother's dress excitedly and introducing Nezumi.

"This is Nezumi!" Goten said, "She's really nice!"

"Nezumi Tsukimo, Mrs. Son. I'm one of Gohan's classmates at Orange Star." Nezumi said, approaching the woman and offering a handshake in greeting. The woman nodded and took Nezumi's hand and shook it pleasantly, a smile on her features.

"Oh! Well then, it's a pleasure to meet you Nezumi. Call me Chi-Chi If you're looking for Gohan, he's working on his homework right now." She said, nodding her head to her left and back to indicate Gohan's supposed location. "He should be done in a few-" Chi-Chi's sentence was cut off as her oldest son walked into the room.

"Hey, mom. Is dinner ready?" Gohan asked, sniffing the aroma coming from the concoction in Chi-Chi's pot. Then Gohan noticed his classmate was also in the room. "Oh! Hey, Nez! What're you doing here?" He asked curiously.

"I told you earlier that I had an art project, didn't I? I ran into your little brother here and decided to drop by." Nezumi said, planting her right hand on Goten's head and ruffling his hair, eliciting a laugh from the young boy as he flailed his hands to shoo Nezumi's hand from his head; she obliged with a chuckle.

"Well that's nice!" Gohan said with a nervous laugh. He then kneeled to Goten's level and spoke to his brother quietly, "Say, Goten, could you come with me for a second?" The younger brother nodded and followed as Gohan hurriedly led the way back into the hallway. Nezumi watched them go and shrugged off the occurrence when Chi-Chi invited her to sit at the table as she tended to her stew.

"So, you're this Nezumi Gohan likes to talk about." Chi-Chi prompted as she lifted the lid on her pot and stirred with the ladle.

"He talks about me?" Nezumi asked curiously. She was flattered to have been mentioned and intrigued on what was spoken of her in particular.

"Says you like drawing and don't like sports too much." Chi-Chi said with a chuckle. Nezumi laughed along and nodded in confirmation.

"Never cared much for sports, especially baseball. Just not my thing." Nezumi said with a shrug. To her, art and sitting around were good things while sports equaled hurt, sores, and the eventual saggy butt after abandoning a sport and sitting around to study for school or to do a desk job.

"He also mentioned that you give good advice in class." Chi-Chi continued, looking over her shoulder at Nezumi with a smile. Nezumi tilted her head to the side questioningly.

"Do I? It's more just warning on what the teachers do and don't like going on in class." Nezumi said, scratching the back of her head sheepishly.

"I'm back!" Goten announced rushing back into the room and skidding to a stop in his little white socks. He then turned his attention to Nezumi and bounced up to meet her. "Hey Nezumi! Do you like fishing?" He asked.

"Well, I've only ever gone fishing once, so I really have no clue." Nezumi said, moving her right hand up to fiddle with one of the earrings in her right ear thoughtfully.

"Oh…well, do you wanna go fishing with me and Gohan?" Goten asked, bouncing up and down excitedly. It made Nezumi slightly dizzy to watch the seven-year-old boy's energetic antics.

"Sounds fun. Sure, I'll go." Nezumi conceded, releasing her earring and standing up from her seat.

"Yay! Come on! Follow me!" Goten cheered, grabbing Nezumi's hand and dragging her towards the front door. He easily slipped on his shoes and Nezumi struggled to puut her own on as one hand was being pulled in one direction.

"Whoa! Don't yank my arm off, kid! I'm coming!" Nezumi shouted with a laugh, trying to keep her balance as she performed a circus-worthy act: she attempted to balance on her left, already shoed, foot as she tried donning her right shoe with her left hand, all the while being dragged behind an easily excitable seven-year-old boy. She hobbled along as Gohan waved a farewell to both.

"You go on without me, squirt! I have a couple things to finish!" Gohan shouted after the two, earning a wave of recognition from his younger brother. He was making his way back to his room to finish his math homework when his mom stalled him with a comment.

"Nezumi's adorable, Gohan. Sweet, sensible, polite…she'd make a very nice _girlfriend_." Chi-Chi implied, quickly and carefully dicing some onions for the stew as she eyed her son with _that_ motherly look. Gohan's face burned a bright red and his arms flailed as he shouted to defend himself.

"M-mom! Don't talk about her like that!" Gohan said, embarrassment making him stutter, "Nezumi's just a friend!" Chichi chuckled under her breath and continued.

"It's really too bad you're going out with that _other_ girl tomorrow…I hadn't even met _her_ yet and you're going out with her? And I thought I taught my little boy some actual manners. Nezumi deserves a date with a nice young man. " Chi-Chi mused, almost as if she hadn't heard Gohan.

"Mom! I already told you, I _have_ to go on that date because she's _forcing_ me to and Nezumi is just a friend! Do you have any idea how awkward it would be to date one of my friends?!" Gohan defended, the red in his face dissipating slightly. He quickly walked off to his room, his head ducked and his shoulders raised, as if to hide like a turtle in its shell.

"Alright, Gohan, if you say so." Chi-Chi answered with a devious chuckle. She did indeed have dark plans for the future.

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"Er…do you often fish in your underwear, Goten?" Nezumi asked the six-year-old awkwardly. Goten had stripped down to his underwear and was about to dive in the crystal clear, and deceptively deep, stream water. He paused when Nezumi asked this and turned to her like she'd just asked the one question with the most obvious answer in the universe.

"Yeah. It's better than getting _all_ my clothes wet." Goten answered casually, folding his hands behind his head and chinking his left knee so his left foot rested on the ground by his toes. It was a common pose of his.

"You have a point…I guess…so, where are the fishing poles, hooks and the bait?" Nezumi asked looking around and recalling what she'd used on her last fishing trip several years ago.

"Silly! You can't catch Paozu fish with poles or hooks! They're too smart!" Goten said with a laugh, "You gotta go in and catch 'em yourself!" Nezumi's face was blank for a second and then she shook her head to move the gears of her brain again. Catch them with your hands? She _had_ to see this.

"Uh, Goten, maybe I should just watch. You know, see how it's done." Nezumi said, indicating a large boulder by the stream. Goten nodded and started stretching his legs, torso, and arms while Nezumi perched on the boulder and folded her legs so she could wrap her arms around them and rest her chin on her knees. The next moment Goten dove in with a loud "Bonsai!" Nezumi laughed and shook her head as she watched the water's surface move wildly as the ripples and splash disturbed it. There was no way this kid could catch a Paozu fish on his own, was there?

Nezumi watched the water as it calmed, noting the appearance of white dots on the calming surface; a reflection on the stars in the sky. Nezumi looked towards the night sky and listened as air bubbles popped on the surface of the water. She made up constellations in her head: dragons, pirate ships, sea monsters. She recalled a night long ago when the moon disappeared from the sky in a blast of light, causing the tides and all sorts of modern measuring devices to become either nonexistent or not functioning. Nezumi sighed after a moment and noted the quiet; there were no air bubbles popping on the surface.

"Goten?" Nezumi asked worriedly, returning her attention to the spot where Goten jumped in: she saw nothing. She stood up quickly and hurried to the edge of the stream, looking into the pitch-black waters. "Goten?!" Nezumi asked, now starting to panic. She did _not_ want to be accused of drowning a seven-year-old in a stream. Suddenly, a few meters downstream, a large splash disturbed the water and out flew a giant blue fish, squirming as it was held up by a tiny hand belonging to a certain seven-year-old boy Nezumi feared had drowned.

"Haha! I got one!" Goten shouted triumphantly. Nezumi sighed in relief and then had a double tak at the sheer size of the fish; it was at least her size, if not bigger.

"That's…one big fish…" Nezumi whispered, her eyes bugged out and her jaw very nearly falling from where her jaw muscles attached it to her skull.

"Yep! Paozu fish are always really big! But this one's a little bit smaller than last week's catch." Goten said, slightly disappointed. He shook he hair like a dog to dry it and climbed out of the stream, the gigantic fish gasping its last breath. Goten quickly got dressed and grabbed the stunned Nezumi by her sleeve, "Come on! Momma's almost done with dinner!"

"Uh…yeah, okay." Nezumi said, following the boy as he effortlessly hauled the big fish towards his home. She staggered every now again, still marveling at the little boy's feat. A thought absently passed through her mind, '_What _**is**_ this kid?_'

--- (Here was where I just gave up for a while. Please forgive me?)---

Her breath came in shallow and ragged heaves as she ran up the main stairwell of Orange Star High School. '_They hated it! Oh dear God, they hated it!_' Nezumi thought frantically as she rounded up another flight of stairs, nearly toppling a fellow student that happened to stand in her way. It's been a week and five days since she'd finished the painting, the stream nearby her friend Gohan's home up at Mount Paozu, and she submitted it for review the previous Monday. It was now Friday and her art teacher had given the final grade: a "D-plus". '_But I worked so hard! It was perfect!_' Nezumi stumbled as she reached the last flight of stairs between her and the roof.

She fell to the stair landing hard and was tempted to just lay there for the floor to swallow her up. Instead, she rolled over to sit on her rump and wipe away the tears with a rough and frustrated fist before standing. She winced at her red and surely bruising calves as she stood, but pressed on, hurrying up the steps in a miserable mess. It was bad enough that she had to stand in front of her classmates and three of the schools most prominent art critics, but to end out with something barely above average? To end out with something she'd apparently not put enough effort into? It was too much.

'_The roof will make me feel better._' Nezumi thought, '_I won't jump, but the breeze will make it better._' She rubbed at her watery and puffy eyes again as she rounded one of the last landings and the door to the roof came into sight. Nezumi sniffled and mindlessly walked up the final steps before grasping the handle, turning it, and shoving the door open. Nezumi sighed in relief at the sight of her friend on the roof: Gohan. He seemed to be fiddling with his watch. "Oh hey, it's Go-" Nezumi started before a shimmer appeared over Gohan, his school attire vanishing beneath an absolutely unique costume: a red cape, a greed tunic, black spandex, an orange helmet, and a matching set of white boots and gloves. "G-G-Gohan?! You're the Great Saiyaman?!" Nezumi shouted, her previous grief forgotten. The youth whirled around in surprise, shocked to see one of his closest friends behind him. She saw his costume change and his secret identity was revealed. Busted.

"N-Nezumi! I-it isn't what it looks like! I can explain!" Gohan tried, frantically waving his arms about as Nezumi stood at the doorway, too stunned to marvel or even move. Her mouth gaped and flapped, like a fish on dry land. She tried to form words, but speech failed her. Gohan was tempted to fly off right away and pretend Nezumi had never seen anything, but she stopped him. Nezumi wasn't aware what she'd done to make him stop, but the black that veiled her vision did a fair job. Her knees buckled and she fell backwards into the stairwell as her hero Saiyaman caught her and spared her from a concussion. "Oh man! This isn't good!" Gohan said, flustered at the unexpected events. He gingerly held Nezumi's head up from the stairs and gently leaned her against the wall of the stairwell. Her head lolled to her left shoulder and she moaned lightly, slowly returning to the conscious world.

"Oh damn…I could've sworn I saw…" Nezumi muttered as her eyes flew open to meet the visor and nervous grimace on Saiyaman's/Gohan's face. She screamed in surprise and scurried back into the corner, pointing an accusing finger at her savior. "Y-you! You're Gohan! A-And Saiyaman! I-I-!" Nezumi was cut off as Saiyaman/Gohan sped forward and covered her mouth with his gloved hand. He shushed her and nervously glanced around to make sure nobody else had heard Nezumi's scream. He then pushed a button on his watch and his super hero costume was replaced with his usual attire.

"Nezumi! Not so loud!" Gohan said worriedly, panic all over his face, "If anybody finds out I'm Saiyaman, I'm as good as dead!" Nezumi searched Gohan's dark eyes for a moment and she nodded, adding a sound of confirmation behind Gohan's, now bare, hand. He gingerly removed his appendage and sat back with a sigh of resignation across from his friend. Nezumi gingerly pulled up her knees and wrapped her arms around them, processing this newfound information in her mind.

"I can't believe it…you're really him, _Saiyaman_ of all people…" Nezumi said quietly. Gohan nodded and looked down the stairs, counting the seconds before she spoke again. "So your powers," she started, "They're real? You can really fly?" Gohan nodded. "You have super strength and speed?" He nodded again. "And you…_fly…_to and from home every day?" Another nod. "Well…that explains how you get around so fast…" Nezumi then stared at her knees, the jeans worn there from gratuitous work and stained a light brown from her various tumbles, including her most recent. After a moment of quiet, Gohan spoke up.

"Nezumi…please, _please_ don't tell anybody. If they knew I was the Great Saiyaman…" He said careful to make sure nobody else knew about his ultimate secret. Nezumi nodded in understanding. Everyone had their secrets , some that are so vital that no one dares even insinuate on the remote idea. Nezumi knew that and Gohan, especially, knew that too.

"Videl would hunt you down and make you tell her yourself…" Nezumi finished, surprising Gohan. She smiled a little, the puffiness in her eyes and cheeks making her face appear remorseful. "I've known Videl since way back. I know what she does when she finds out somebody's been holding out on her…especially when it's a juicy secret." Nezumi laughed a little, remembering the times she and Videl shared. She then looked at Gohan, waiting for his eyes to meet hers. He was turned towards the stairs, his head fallen forward and his back hunched as his arms rested on his legs and his thumbs danced together. He glanced over at Nezumi nervously. "I won't tell."

"Huh? Wh-what?" Gohan asked, stunned that Nezumi would so easily keep such an incriminating secret.

"I. Won't. Tell." Nezumi said, annunciating each word, "I swear it on my grandmother's grave. I'll hold it 'til my eminent death." She moved her legs so she was sitting on them and set her left hand on the ground to support her weight as she leaned forward and offered a handshake with her right hand. Gohan stared at her hand dumbly for a moment, then her face. Her hand, her face, her hand, and finally her face again. He smiled, relieved, and took her petite hand in his own much larger one. They shook on it: Nezumi swore to keep Gohan's secret until her eminent death. After a moment, Nezumi glanced at their joined hands and nervously pulled hers away, a blush creeping up her neck and on her cheeks. "Y-you should go…save people and stuff." Nezumi said, whirling her eyes around to look at anything but Gohan.

"You sure? You might've gotten hurt when you fainted…"Gohan said, concerned his friend wouldn't meet his gaze. Nezumi shook her head and smiled, her face still a little puffy from earlier.

"No, I'm sure I'm fine. You did save me an' all." Nezumi said, making Gohan blush a little and scratch the back of his head nervously. "Go on, hero. Save the town again." He gave her an assured smile and jogged out the door to the roof. She watched as Gohan pressed a button on his watch and was once again in his Saiyaman outfit. As he floated off the roof and up into the air, Nezumi scrambled to her feet and ran out to watch Gohan fly off into the sky. He turned and waved a goodbye, Nezumi returning the gesture enthusiastically as he flew off towards the high-rise buildings of Satan City. Nezumi lowered her arm and sighed. Gohan, one of her best friends, was a _real_ super hero with _real_ super powers. Amazing.

"Oh! There you are Nezumi!" Nezumi whirled around to see one of her classmates from art class at the doorway. "You've got it all wrong! There was a mistake!" He said with a grin and a laugh. Nezumi was confused, didn't she get a D-plus on that painting?

"They…what? But, I heard them. The teachers said-" Nezumi muttered, befuddled and surprised.

"No! Not you Nezumi! That D-plus was for Sharpner's painting!" he said, "He got jealous and switched the grades! Yours is an A!" the student said. Nezumi's jaw dropped.

'_The bastard!_' She thought, '_That sneaking, muscle-bound, sonuvabitch bastard!_' Nezumi's head lowered as she chewed on her lower lip and clenched her fists. Suddenly she threw her head back and screamed to the sky, "**YOU'RE DEAD SHARPNER!!!**"

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Nooboo, it's thanks to you that this plot line exists. Keep feeding me ideas! XD (Just kidding, but seriously, thank you! Thank you so much!)

Anyway, yeah…I had zero motivation. I don't want you all to think I'll abandon the story, it'll just take a lot longer to finish until my typing muse returns to me.

Review please?


	7. Just Super

In Small Packages – Chapter 7 – Just Super

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Late update is late. But for a reason, I've been in school and college is hard. Not only that, but I have matured a lot since I last wrote and my writing style changed as a result.

This is just a silly chapter to get me back in the groove.

As for the other chapters, I'm fixing them.

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Dragonball Z is not mine and it never will be. Nezumi is mine and forever will be. 'nuff said.**

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RING...RING...RI-

"Hello, you've reached the Son residence. Chi-Chi speaking." Said Chi-Chi as she answered the phone. She paused as she listened to the other end. "Oh! Hello Nezumi! How are you? ...Gohan? He's still asleep...well alright, I'll get him for you. Gohan!" she shouted at her eldest son as she covered the receiving end of the phone. Said young man grumbled under his breath and rolled over, pulling the sheets over his shoulder as he snoozed the weekend morning away. Gohan's little brother, however, was already awake and eating breakfast.

"Momma, is that Nezumi? Can I talk to her?" Goten asked, bounding out of his seat and over to his mother. Chi-Chi smiled at her son and handed him the phone.

"Of course, sweetheart. I'll be right back with Gohan." Chi-Chi said as she left to fetch her sleeping son.

"Nezumi! It's Goten!" the boy said excitedly into the receiver. On the other end, Nezumi smiled at Goten's cheerful greeting.

"Hey Squirt! What're you doing up this early on a Saturday?" She asked, leaning back in her seat and crossing her left leg over her right.

"Momma promised to make Dim sum for breakfast!" Goten answered excitedly, making Nezumi laugh gently.

"Sounds yummy, I should try that some time. Say, is your brother there?" Nezumi asked as she twirled a mechanical pencil in her hand, a note scribbled onto the note pad beside her.

"Yeah, Momma's getting him now." Goten answered as Chi-Chi guided his older brother into the kitchen. Goten held the phone to the groggy teenager. "Here, Gohan! It's Nezumi!" Gohan grumbled and rubbed his eyes with one hand. He took the phone in his free hand and mumbled a sleepy "Hullo?"

"Morning sleepyhead! Listen, I need your help." Nezumi said as she stopped twirling the pencil in favor of tapping the writing end on the note pad.

"Why not call Erasa or Videl?" Gohan asked dully, slowly waking up as time passed.

"Because they don't..." Nezumi started, pausing only a moment to make sure her father wasn't around to hear. "They don't have superpowers." She finished with a whisper.

"What's going on?" Gohan asked, now alert and wary of the possibility of danger. Goten and Chi-Chi, who were seated at the table, glanced at Gohan and then each other before turning to look back at Gohan for an answer.

"I'll explain later, just get your super hero butt over here." Nezumi said quickly as she heard her dad starting to wake and get ready for the day.

"Whoa, wait a-" Gohan started, Nezumi interrupting him.

"Meet me in two hours. I'll be at the park two blocks west of school." Nezumi finished as she pulled her phone from her ear.

"Wait a minute! Nez!" Gohan tried, hearing a curt click as Nezumi hung up on him. He placed the phone back in its cradle and dashed down the hallway to his room to get dressed. When he returned his mother stood and followed her son as he jogged out the front door.

"What's happening Gohan?" Chi-Chi asked hurriedly.

"Sorry mom, Nezumi needs help." Gohan said as he changed into Saiyaman and started floating off into the sky, "I'll try to be back for lunch!" His mother sighed and smiled after her ambitious son, reminded of her late husband whenever he ran off to save someone.

* * *

"Damnit...where is that guy? He should've been here twenty minutes ago ago." Nezumi said to herself as she sat on a park bench, her arms folded and right fingers angrily rubbing the hem of her left shirt sleeve.

"Nez!" Gohan shouted, catching his friend's attention as he jogged into the park. Nezumi stood, unfolding her arms and placing her hands on her hips. "Sorry I'm late Nezumi, I flew here as Saiyaman and got stopped by the Channel 8 morning news crew." Gohan answered honestly. What he didn't detail was that it was the news helicopter and pilot that came over to him, asking for an interview.

"Really? Hm, I'll have to watch the news later." Nezumi muttered, taking a mental note, "Anyway, follow me." She said, grabbing Gohan's sleeve and pulling him along.

"Where're we going?" Gohan asked, changing up his pace to match Nezumi's so she wouldn't have to drag him.

"Sharpner's." Nezumi said, glancing from left to right as the two left the park, crossed a street, and headed toward a large apartment complex.

"What for?" Gohan asked, wodering if Sharpner had gotten into trouble. A gang? A fighter? Was he trapped? Gohan thought of as many situations as he could until Nezumi supplied the reason.

"He switched the grades on our art projects." Nezumi said seriously, making Gohan stop and think how that could be a bad situation.

"He...switched your grades?" Gohan puzzled, causing Nezumi to turn around and further explain her intentions.

"Yeah! Remember that painting of Mt. Paozu I did?" Gohan nodded, "Well, Sharpner got a D and switched it for my A. I'm pranking him for revenge." Nezumi finished, bringing her hands up in fists and shaking them to emphasize how serious she was.

"Nez...I thought you were in serious trouble. I can't use my powers for bad intentions." Gohan said, his shoulders sagging in disappointment. Nezumi dropped her hands and sighed as her brain started formulating a plan.

"Tell you what, help me do this and I'll cover you every time you have to run out for an emergency." Nezumi bargained.

"Nez, I can't-" Gohan started, shaking his head.

"AND I'll buy you breakfast for a month." Nezumi added. Gohan froze and contemplated his choices: accept and have a guaranteed morning meal every day for a month or decline and risk depriving himself of breakfast should he wake up late on school days. Nezumi held out her right hand, offering a handshake to Gohan as she smiled deviously, knowing she got him.

"...deal." Gohan said in defeat, accepting the handshake.

"Alright, let's go." Nezumi said as she again grabbed Gohan's sleeve and tugged him along to Sharpner's home. Gohan sighed and stared into the sky, asking why he let himself get into this situation. At least, he reasoned, food was part of his payment.

* * *

Nezumi and Gohan snuck up the fire escape at the side of the building, Gohan floating and Nezumi tiptoeing to minimize noise. Nezumi paused at the fifth floor and glanced in one of the slightly ajar balcony doors to confirm her assumptions; they had reached Sharpner's room. The muscly blond snorted and grumbled as he rolled over, his sheets falling about and tangling around Sharpner's limbs. Nezumi was grateful Sharpner at least wore his underwear to bed as his rear end came into sight from under the sheets.

"Okay, first, get in there and pick up the mattress." Nezumi whispered to Gohan.

"Huh?" he asked, still not sure of Nezumi's plan.

"Pick up the mattress, with him and the sheets on it, take that out the doors, and deposit all of that onto the front lawn." Nezumi explained, gently pushing the balcony's french doors open even further.

"I still don't think I should do this, Nez." Gohan said, shaking his head and questioning his choice to go along with her plan.

"Breakfast for the rest of the school year." Nezumi said hurriedly, amending her earlier bargain. Gohan cursed his stomach for making decisions for him.

"Alright, I'll be right back." Gohan said as he silently slipped into Sharpner's room. He moved his hands under the mattress and slowly lifted, making sure not to jostle Sharpner awake. Nezumi scooted out of the way as Gohan floated out the doors, over the balcony wall, and down the side of the building. Nezumi returned the window to its prior position and hurried down the fire escape as quietly as she could while Gohan set the mattress square in the middle of the lawn. "Jeez, Sharpner sleeps like a rock." the super-powered teen commented.

"He won't in about thirty seconds." Nezumi said, quickly checking her watch and pulling Gohan to the other side of the street to hide behind bushes in the little park across from Sharpner's apartment complex.

"What's going to happen?" Gohan whispered as the seconds ticked by, the two watching the blond as he snored and rolled over once again.

"Shh!" Nezumi hissed, again checking her watch. "In five, four, three, two..." Before Nezumi reached one, little black sprinklers rose from their hiding places in the grass. There was a momentary hiss as the water pressure rose and a satisfying girlish scream as the icy water flew from the sprinklers and showered Sharpner and his bedding.

Nezumi was cackling in joy as Gohan sputtered and tried to not laugh at Sharpner's expense. Sopping wet and too embarrassed to go and search out the pranksters, Sharpner collected as much of his bedding as he could and wrapped it around his waist as he scurried back into the building.

"Best prank EVER!" Nezumi exclaimed as she caught her breath, Gohan shaking his head and smiling.

"Well, I'll admit, it was funny." Gohan said, watching the residents of the apartment look around from their balconies for the source of the scream.

"Ah...that was good." Nezumi said as she lead Gohan away from the scene and down towards one of the many shopping centers. "Alrighty then, I guess I'll see you around, Gohan." Nezumi said as she turned to go down another street.

"Oh no you don't." Gohan said as he clapped a hand on Nezumi's shoulder. "You owe me some breakfast." Nezumi opened her mouth to protest, but stopped and closed her mouth. "And if you remember, I eat a lot at meals." Gohan added with a smile. She chewed on her lips and cursed the deal she made, hoping her next paycheck could pay off this huge meal.

* * *

Revenge is a dish best served cold.


End file.
